Start The New Year with Single Malt from New Zealand – New Zealand Whisky News
‘Dare to discover different’ in 2023 with this Single Malt from New Zealand!
Nestled in a warm, often misty valley, protected by the volcanic hills from which they source their pure spring water, Pōkeno is a hidden treasure of a remote and beautiful land – and a natural choice of location for this state-of-the-art distillery.
Everything done here is driven by a goal to create one of the world’s great Single Malts. Batch production, long fermentation, and slow distillation are just a few of the things that help make them different. As craft distillers, they are also able to focus on quality over quantity and on doing things their way, not the easy way.
Using only pure volcanic spring water from the North Island distillery’s surrounding volcanic hills and family-farmed barley from New Zealand’s rich, fertile South Island, Pōkeno selects only the finest casks to mature their precious spirit, and the warm subtropical local climate accelerates its maturation and flavor development.
All of this allows Pōkeno to produce Single Malt whisky with exceptional body and flavor; whisky that captures the pure spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The New Zealand spirit is forged through a unique marriage of culture and climate. It’s an intangible phenomenon that produces tangible greatness and enables Kiwis to fearlessly stride on a global stage. It’s this spirit that inspires the team at Pōkeno to experiment with flavor to create world-class- but distinctively different – Single Malts.
When asked of the new partnership with ImpEx Beverages in the US, Founder Matt Johns said, “We are delighted to be partnering with ImpEx Beverages for the distribution of Pōkeno Single Malt Whisky in the United States. We are passionate about what we do, and were focused on finding a partner who shares the same passion for Single Malt whisky to bring our fantastic range of New Zealand Single Malt whiskies to the American market”
Sam Filmus, President of ImpEx Beverages said, “Matt and his team truly have a passion for what they do and a love of where they come from. All of this translates into every drop of this beautiful liquid. We couldn’t be more proud to introduce this small piece of New Zealand to whisky lovers in the US and are excited to see consumers here fall in love with Pōkeno in its quest to be ‘fearless, relentless, and ever original’”
Pōkeno officially launches in January of 2023 with two core expressions and a US Exclusive Single Cask offering.
Pōkeno Origin is matured in first fill Bourbon casks. It is a delightfully sweet and round whisky with beautiful citrus, honey, grapefruit, and creamy toffee notes that give way to a complex and lingering finish.
Pōkeno Discovery is fully matured in first fill Bourbon, Oloroso, and Pedro Ximenez Casks then allowed to marry perfectly together. It is a rich and complex whisky with beautiful notes of dark chocolate, black forest gåteau, ripe cherries, and sweet citrus that give way to a rich, smooth, and incredibly long finish.
ImpEx debuted this exciting new addition to the portfolio in their last ImpEx Distillery Deep Dive of the year hosted on their Facebook and YouTube Channels December 21st 2022 at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern Time.
Pōkeno will be available at specialty retailers across the US. For more information on where to purchase this amazing spirit of New Zealand please contact our office at Office@ImpExBev.com.
About Pōkeno Whisky
In 2017 Pōkeno Whisky was founded with a vision to put New Zealand on the map as a producer of single malt whisky. It is the largest single malt distillery in the country. Today, the Pōkeno Whisky Company handles all processing on site at a state-of-the-art distillery with maturation warehouses, filtration and bottling facilities, and a fully functional cooperage.
About ImpEx Beverages
In 2008, ImpEx Beverages was founded with the vision to import premium and rare spirits from around the world, with a special emphasis on the best of what Scotland has to offer. Today, ImpEx boasts an impressive portfolio, including some of the most notable small to medium sized distilleries and independent bottlers; importing Whisky, Gin, Rum, and Mezcal from Scotland, Wales, Japan, Israel, Mexico, England, India, and New Zealand with future anticipated additions from unexpected destinations. ImpEx also features a fine line of Liqueurs and Cordials produced in the US.
This 18 year old is aged in a mix of bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry casks. The nose is redolent of a damped-down bonfire, with stewed fruit, wood spice, and pipe tobacco. There are red berries, subtle peat, a hint of iodine, and soft oak on the complex palate. The finish yields more tobacco, oak, rich peat, and spicy dark chocolate. (GS, Spring 2020) 
